I think Apple would be smart to redesign the iPad, as well as introduce other phone sizes (without removing existing ones). I've been saying this for a while now.
Let's face it, Apple is primarily a hardware company. Their portfolio is not that big. People often say that Apple is a big company, but it is only true in terms of revenue. I see Apple as a small company that makes BIG money. Samsung is big. Yamaha is big. Sony. Honda.
As such, they need to keep their products fresh, and have some diversity. I believe that the market for their current products is coming close to saturation. The only way to move outside of it is to add few items to their lineup, and refresh their lines frequently so as to attract customers
outside of the typical fan. I feel that the two-year cycle is sound; release-then refine, hardware focus-then software focus. The product-line simplicity that Steve Jobs introduced to Apple upon his return was necessary
then. Now I think they should expand it a little bit.
I see the biggest issue with their main cash cow (iPhone) was that the 5 was just too similar to the 4 with regards to its appearance. To the large majority of consumers, looks matter. Nobody
wants an ugly girl (guy), an ugly car, ugly clothes, etc. (not to say that anything Apple puts out is ugly). Hyundai, a company previously considered to be junky-car maker, completely changed the public's perception with the
appearance of their hardware. Their products are still (slightly) average with regards to performance, but their appearance is so good that buyers cannot resist (myself included).
The masses want product refreshes. When not available, they go elsewhere that provides the different and pretty, especially when under-hood it's just "good enough" (see Hyundai reference above).
The iPhone 5 was just too close to the 4 in design, and many people saw (still see) it as the same-old same-old (despite its very solid improvements). This was disappointing, and brought lust-factor iPhone replacements to a grinding halt, while opening the door to the likes of Samsung to say "the next best thing is already here". I, for one, lust after a screen like the SIII, but WILL NOT live without Apple's refinement. Others will (clearly). I remember when I first saw the G4 iMac tablelamp. Wow. To this day, I cannot recall seeing a more beautiful piece of hardware (well, the G4 cube maybe). Every Macworld release of new products used to be greeted with Ooohs and Aaahs. Not anymore.
Jony Ive is quoted as saying that new and different are easy, but genuinely better is hard. Well, he needs to take the "easy" road while he works on the "genuinely better" one. iOS is rock-solid. It works. It's intuitive as hell. It is
secure. It needs just a bit more
refinement (a little fewer skeumorphisms, please), not a complete overhaul (this would be a mistake). But hardware, that's another story. Give me different and new hardware, Apple! We buy what we see.
The iPad mini design is fantastic. If they did the same treatment to the iPad, it would FLY off shelves again. The reduction of the bezels alone would greatly reduce weight, and the software that can handle your thumb on the screen is already implemented on the mini. The fat bezels are now unnecessary.
The iPhone needs to be radically changed in appearance, beautiful as it is. I would have broken my contracts big-time for some of the renders I saw on this site. Bigger-screen models, less bezels, overhauls.
As far as iOS 7, I just want user accounts, and an option to not have the icon rows ALL THE TIME. I wish they'd implement it like they did on Mountain Lion, where a 4 finger (3 for the iPhone?) brings UP the rows, but where that is not it's default state. That's it. User accounts and a bit of customization.
So, design, design, design. Crank out the different
on the outside, keep it working smoothly on the inside. Simple. And Apple has the money to do this. One more device across all existing platforms is not going to turn the company into Jon Sculley Apple. They don't need to go crazy; maybe they just need to bring back the "Computer" part to their name. Based on their hardware portfolio, it never left.